PROBLEMS
by KilmerFrog45
Summary: Read and Review Please! I know I write a lot of "Center Stage" stories, but you all seem to love them. And I have a lot of ideas.
1. Charlie's Love

Charlie and Jody have Problems Too ****

Charlie and Jody have Problems Too

Jody looked into Charlie's eyes. He leaned into kiss her and she pulled back.

"Come one! I thought I told you that I loved Ryan!"

"You said you two broke up!"

"Yeah, so? You and me broke up, and you still love me! So why can't me and Ryan break up and me still love him?"

"Because Ryan is the biggest jerk I have ever met in my entire life!"

"Hey! How would you like it if I dissed the person you loved?"

"I dunno. How would you feel about dissing yourself?"

"Uh! You are such a…"

"Toad?"

"YES! Exactly! You are a toad! I mean, what am I saying? I'm calling you a green amphibian that goes 'croak croak'!"

"Ok? Random!"

Just then Ryan walks into the room.

"OK! ENOUGH REHEARSAL FOR TODAY!" Cooper yelled from where he sat in front of them. They had been rehearsing the dialogue part of his new ballet.

Charlie kissed Jody before standing up. He walked off backstage to change. Jody went off in the other direction to change as well. They met each other out in the lobby and left for Charlie's apartment. He couldn't cook if his life depended on it, so he ordered them pizza.

"How do you expect to lift me if you fill me up on Pizza every Friday night?"

"Jody, look, I've been meaning to talk about that. I've noticed that I do fill you up on pizza every single Friday night, and sometimes Chinese or something. And I know you eat more on other days and for lunch and stuff. But you never seem to gain more than a penny's worth of weight."

"That's because I dance non-stop every single day. It's called exercise."

"Yeah, but still. You are the smallest girl in Cooper's company and I'm worried about you."

"Are you saying that I don't know how to eat healthy?"

"No, of course not. Just that, maybe you're eating healthy and then…." Charlie's thought trailed off.

"And what? And then I go puke it up?"

"All I'm saying is-"

"That I can't run my own life! That' you think I have an eating disorder! And that you have no idea what it's like to be a female ballet dancer!" Jody grabbed her coat and purse and left Charlie's apartment.

Charlie slumped down on the couch. He always managed to say the wrong thing when he was in love. Normally he could always say the right thing, but now, around Jody, the more time he spent with her the more he started screwing up their relationship. He could pull off saying the right thing on stage, but he knew that's not what he'd ever say in real life, and that bothered him.

He knew he loved Jody and he knew that Jody loved him. They had been going out for 2 years, and they were 20 now. Charlie had given up on ABC after less than a year. They weren't making the kind of ballets he wanted to dance in, and they didn't have Jody. So he got into the Cooper Neilson Dance Company. Both he and Jody were principle dancers. Sometimes it bugged him how close Cooper had to get to Jody during rehearsal, but then he remembered how Jody loved him and how Jody always blew off Cooper.

But knowing all this still didn't help with his problem, and his problem was his mouth. He had been saying the weirdest things lately. Every thought that had gone through his head in the past 2 years about Jody that he hadn't said aloud, he was saying now. He wasn't even thinking about it first.

He turned on the tv and ate the whole pizza by himself. He felt bad about that later, so he worked out a little extra the next week.


	2. Jody's Non-Truth

Charlie and Jody have Problems Too… Part 2 ****

Charlie and Jody have Problems Too… Part 2

Jody ran into Cooper's arms, crying.

"What did he do this time?" Cooper asked.

Jody rubbed her head in Cooper's chest and sobbed.

"Come on. You can tell me."

Jody pulled back and rubbed her eyes. She looked into Cooper's blue eyes and sighed. "Cooper, this is so hard. I love him , I really do. But I think he's trying to ruin our relationship or something."

"That's because he doesn't know what a good thing he has. He's an idiot. He doesn't really care about you."

Jody nodded. "Maybe you're right."

"Of course I am."

Jody looked at Cooper and smiled. "Why do you always have to do that?"

"Do what?"

"Be so… good."

"Good?"

"Yeah. You're so sweet and understanding and… good to me."

Cooper smiled. "I don't know."

The Next Day At Charlie's Apartment…

Charlie and Jody sat on the couch kissing. They had a movie playing but… who cares? Charlie pulled back and looked at Jody. She looked so beautiful. He smiled.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Jody demanded.

Charlie shrugged. "I love you." This was the first time he said that to her… or anyone.

Jody looked at him. "You _what_?"

"I love you." Charlie smiled.

Jody was speechless. And she had thought Charlie was trying to ruin their relationship! She looked into Charlie's eyes and saw fear. What was he afraid of?

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Something's wrong. I can see it in your eyes. What are you afraid of?"

Charlie stood up. "I'm not afraid of anything."

"Come on Charlie! I thought you loved me, you can tell me anything."

"There is nothing to tell." Charlie said stubbornly.

"Come on Charlie! You know what, you are lucky you told me that you love me. Yesterday when we had out fight, do you know where I went? Do you know? CHARLIE!! DO YOU KNOW??"

"No." Charlie said quietly.

"Cooper Neilson."

Charlie's eyes suddenly turned hard and cold. "Cooper." He growled.

"And Cooper was nice. He doesn't tell me I look to skinney or to fat or to… slutty. Charlie, I know you hate him, so just be glad you said that… because I thought you were trying to end it… so what are you afraid of? TELL ME!!" Jody said, trying not to yell to loud, Charlie's walls were very thin.

Charlie looked at Jody and tried not to get angry. It didn't work. "What the hell were you doing with COOPER NEILSON that you can't do with ME??" Charlie yelled.

"Nothing. Cooper can't give me half the stuff you give me. You love me! He doesn't……" Jody didn't dare voice the rest.

Charlie didn't know what to say. Was he still supposed to be mad? Was he supposed to forgive her… for flirting with the one person he truly hated. "You know how much I hate Cooper?" He asked coldly.

"Yeah?" Jody said softly.

Charlie looked into her eyes. "I love you twice as much."

Jody stared at him. She smiled. "No one's ever said that to me before."

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I just… I'm amazed. How could anyone not love you." Charlie sat down again. "You are the most… amazing person I've ever met. You are beautiful and fun and nice and caring and loving and…" Charlie smiled. "I love you."

Jody smiled. "Oh God, you are so sweet." Jody leaned into kiss him.

Charlie decided not to bring up the fact that she hadn't said anything back and kissed her. The movie credits came on and a few minutes later the tv screen went black and it started rewinding itself.

5 Months Later…

Charlie sat on Sergei's couch thinking about how much he hated Cooper. Less then 2 weeks after Charlie had told Jody that he loved her, she dumped him. She told him that she loved Cooper. Charlie couldn't believe it, and he didn't. He knew that Jody didn't really love Cooper. She was just confused. But he and Cooper seemed to be the only people who realized this. And Cooper was taking advantage of it the best he could. 

Charlie could just imagine what they were doing. It was 7pm where he was… so it would be 10pm in New York. Charlie shuddered. He didn't even want to think about what that jerk was doing… the jerk being Cooper… with Jody. He could just imagine one day when Jody comes home to find Cooper sleeping with some other unsupecting girl. He would break Jody's heart. And then Jody would come crawling back to Charlie. Charlie would act like he didn't care, but then he'd take her back and they'd get married and… Sergei broke into Charlie's thoughts.

Charlie had moved in with Sergei and Galina 4 months ago. Sergei and Charlie shared a room at first, and Galina had her own room. Now Sergei and Galina shared a room, and Charlie had a room to himself.

"Yo Charlie! Snap out of it! You ready to out for dinner?" Sergei asked.

"Uh, I don't know. I was thinking of just staying here tonight."

"Come on Charlie! You have to get out of here, this isn't healthy, just look at yourself!" Galina said.

"I need a mirror thank you very much. Besides, I'm just not that hungry."

"Fine, but we are gonna bring you back some food, and you are gonna eat it." Sergei said.

"Sure." Charlie said, knowing he couldn't change their minds.

"Are you sure you don't want to come?" Galina asked hopefully.

Charlie smiled. "Ok, ok, I'll go. Where are we headed tonight?"

"Pizza Hut." Sergei smiled.

"What??" Charlie almost screamed.

"Whoa! Chill out! I'm just kidding. We are going to Subway."

"Eh. I hate Subway."

"You prefer Blimpie?"

"Not really. Maybe I will just stay home tonight and make myself something."

"Since when can you cook?" Galina laughed. She had learned not to let Charlie cook.

"I dunno. I'll just have some cereal or something."

"Oh come on! Please come with us! We can drive around and find something you like." Sergei said.

Charlie sighed. "Sure. Why not?" He stood up and left with his friends.

When they got about 2 hours later Charlie was stuffed. They had ended up going to a buffet place and all eaten 2 days worth of food.

Charlie stuck his tongue out. "I'm gonna hurl." He smiled.

Sergei smiled. "Whoa. Maybe that was a bad idea. I'm stuffed.

Galina groaned. "You have no idea."

The phone rang.

Galina stumbled over to the phone and clumsily picked it up. "Hello?…. Jody?" Galina turned away from Sergei and Charlie.


	3. Charlie's Sister

Charlie and Jody have Problems Too… Part 3 ****

Charlie and Jody have Problems Too… Part 3

"Oh, I'm really, uh, sorry… Uh, hold on I'll go check." Galina turned to Charlie. "Is Charlie here?" She asked teasingly.

Charlie thought a minute before shaking his head.

Galina shrugged. "No, I'm sorry Jody, he's not here now, he must be out… I don't know… a date? I'm not sure… I can go ask Sergei… ok hold on." Galina looked back at Charlie. "Is Charlie out on a date?"

Charlie shook his head furiously and whispered something to Sergei.

"He's just out with a friend." Sergei smiled at Charlie.

Galina rolled her eyes. "Jody? He's just out with a friend… a girl? I don't know… he doesn't tell me these things… probably, want me to go ask?… ok, hold on." Galina smiled and looked at Charlie. "Is Charlie's friend a girl?"

Sergei looked at Charlie, but Charlie didn't move. "He didn't tell me." Sergei laughed.

Galina smiled. "Sergei says he doesn't know… they are but I think he was gone before we got home anyway… dinner, I'm stuffed, we ate soo much… oh wait, Charlie just walked in… sure, here he is." Galina shrugged and handed the phone to Charlie.

Charlie grabbed it and glared at Galina. He shut himself in his room and sat at the head of his bed. "Hello?"

"Hey Charlie, it's Jody."

"Oh hey."

"Galina said you were just out with a friend."

Charlie smiled. "Yeah, Jessie."

"So, that's a guy?"

"No, it's short for Jessica."

Jody frowned. "Oh, I see."

Charlie decided not to say anything about how it wasn't a date, or that it didn't even happen. He could tell she was jealous. "Yeah, we just went out to dinner. So, why are you calling?"

"I just… me and Cooper broke up."

Charlie wasn't sure weather to smile or frown. This meant he could get back with Jody, but this also meant Jody was hurt. He hated for Jody to be hurt, because it hurt him to see her like that. "Oh. I'm sorry."

"Oh, don't be, you were right all along. He is a jerk."

"Why? What did he do?"

"I caught him… making out… with another girl."

"Oh. I'm really sorry."

"Yeah, thanks."

Charlie didn't know what to say. "Sure…"

"So, what are you doing?"

"Not much… Look, Jody, I have to go, ok? We'll talk more later."

"Ok, bye."

"Bye." Charlie hung up the phone and crawled under the covers of his bed.

Charlie loved San Francisco, he really did. He could be with 2 of his 5 best friends all the time (Sergei and Galina out of Erik, Eva, Jody, Sergei and Galina). He could be closer to his family in Seattle. His older sister, Lisa, had just had a baby too, Jennifer May. Charlie loved his sister, and his new niece. But now matter how fun and beautiful California was, it would never have Jody Sawyer, the only person he thought he'd ever love.

A week later…

Charlie was visiting his sister for the weekend. It was Friday night and Lisa had her best friend, Callie, over as well. Her husband, Rob, was away on a business trip.

"So, Charlie, what do you do?" Callie inquired.

"I… dance ballet." Charlie said, praying he didn't sound embarrassed.

Callie raised her eyebrows. "Really? That must be… interesting."

"Yeah, it is." Charlie nodded.

Lisa smiled. "Uh, Callie, you wanna help me set the table for dinner? In the kitchen?"

"Sure." Callie realized her friend needed to talk to her, so she followed her into the kitchen, leaving Charlie alone on the couch in the living room.

"What are you doing out there?" Lisa asked.

"I dunno. You're brother is really nice."

"Yeah…"

"He's really a ballet dancer?"

"Yes."

"So, then, is he gay?"

Lisa scrunched up her nose. "No."

"Oh good. He's so hot, it wouldn't be fair to… me…" Callie smiled. "… if he was… haha. He's really cute. Does he have a girlfriend?"

"Well, no. But he just went through a really painful break-up a few months ago, and he hasn't quite… recovered or whatever you want to call it. He was really in love with her."

Callie sighed. "Oh! That's sooo adorable! Do you think you could set us up?"

"I don't know… he lives all the way in San Francisco."

"So? It's not that far."

"Well, yeah, but he still hasn't gotten over Jody."

"Jody?"

"Yeah. Jody Sawyer. She's some big ballet star in the Cooper Neilson Ballet Company, it's in New York where Charlie used to live. They went out for 2 years."

"Whoa. How old is he?"

"20."

"Oh wow. God, I wish he were mine."

"Callie! You are 28!"

"So? How old was Jody?"

"19 or 20."

"Oh… do have a picture of her?"

"I think, come on, let's go check."

Callie followed Lisa into her room. Lisa looked at the framed pictures on her dresser, but didn't see anything she wanted. She pulled out a photo album from a bookshelf and flipped through it.

"Ah! Here we go. That's Charlie and Jody about 8 months ago. They come here to celebrate their friend Sergei's birthday or something. They came up here to visit me for a day and these are the pictures I took. There are like 4 of them." Lisa handed Callie the open photo album.

Callie inspected the pictures. "So this is Jody… he still loves her huh?"

"Totally. And I mean, you should have seen them together… they were perfect for each other."

"Hmmm… you're not helping. How long ago did they break up?"

"4 months I think."

"And he _still_ loves her?"

"Yeah… he's… really…" Lisa didn't know what to say.

"I see… hmmmm… all this can be changed." Callie said slyly as she went back out to the living room. She sat down next to Charlie and handed him the album open to the pictures of him and Jody. "Here. Lisa was just showing me the pictures of last time you were up here."

Charlie took the photo album and looked down at the pictures. He smiled, remembering that day. "Yeah." Charlie said lost in thought.

"Uh, who's that?" Callie asked, pointing to Jody in the top picture.

"That's Jody Sawyer." Charlie said dreamily.

"Is she your girlfriend?"

"Oh no. I mean, she used to be… but we broke up a few months ago…"

"Oh, I'm so sorry. You two must have been really happy." Callie said looking into Charlie's sad eyes.

Charlie slammed the album shut. "Yeah, well, things change." He said, almost angrily.

Callie raised her eyebrows at this. "Oh, sorry."

"Don't be." Charlie said. He glared up at his sister. "Is dinner ready?" He asked nicely.

"Uh, sure."

After dinner Callie went home. Charlie and his sister sat outside on the porch looking at the photo album, and Jennifer was sleeping.

"Can I have these pictures?" Charlie asked when they reached the ones of him and Jody.

"Sure, I have the doubles somewhere… you can these copies."

"Thanks." Charlie took the pictures out and held them delicately in his hands.

They heard screaming coming from inside and Lisa sighed as she stood up. "Jennifer's awake." She smiled at Charlie.

"Need any help?" Charlie offered.

"No, I'm ok, thanks anyway." Lisa went into her house.

Charlie looked at the small pictures in his hands. He stood up and threw them on the ground. He stood on them and then picked them back up. There were marks all over the pictures now. Charlie sighed.

Why did he still love Jody so much? Anyone who doesn't realize that they love a person… and then think they love someone else… was not the kind of person Charlie usually liked. But Jody was different. He loved her.

Charlie ripped up the pictures and sat back down. He pt his arms on his knees and put his hands through his hair. Why did loving Jody have to hurt so much. She was supposed to be a great thing… when she was with Charlie.

Jody herself was lost without Charlie. Without Charlie to tell her she was beautiful and still a great dancer, Jody didn't know where she fit in. Cooper thought she was a good dancer, and he told her all those other things… but it just wasn't the same as with someone who really loved her.

When Charlie went back to his home, Sergei welcomed him with a cheeseburger in hand.

"Here, eat this!" She shoved the food in Charlie's face.

Charlie stepped back and took the cheeseburger. "Why? I ate plenty at my sister's."

Sergei shrugged. "So? We ate at McDonalds and thought we'd get you something."

Charlie pushed his way into the apartment. He laid the cheeseburger down on the counter. "I'm not hungry, I had dinner before we left. And besides, why are you eating McDonalds? Are you trying to get fat or something?"

"Well, no, but we can it sometimes. Besides, it's good."

Charlie nodded. "Yeah. But I had _a lot_ of pasta for dinner and I can't eat another bite."

Sergei shrugged again and picked up the cheeseburger. He aimed for the trashcan and shot. It landed in it. "And he scores!!! Yay!!!"

Charlie laughed. "Come on dude, let me get to my room." Charlie moved to go to his room but Sergei stepped in front of him. Charlie moved another way but Sergei stopped him again. "Come on man, I'm tired."

Sergei smiled. "I'm sorry. I can let you go anywhere until Galina says so."

"Why?" Charlie asked, trying to look past Sergei.

Sergei moved again to block Charlie's view. "You'll see."

"Well how long do I have to wait?"

"OK SERGEI!!!" Galina called from somewhere Charlie couldn't see.

Sergei moved out of Charlie's way. "That long!" He smiled.

Charlie shrugged and picked up his small bag. He walked to his room and threw his bag o the floor. Why hadn't he been allowed to some in here before… Charlie turned around and flew back out to the main room. Someone was sitting o the couch… Jody!

"Jody! What are you doing here?" Charlie shouted, trying not to smiled a lot.

Jody stood up and went over to him. Galina had just helped her get ready for this, so why was she so nervous. She and Galina had picked out a pair of dark blue jeans for her to wear. She was also wearing a tight, light blue, long sleeve shirt that hugged her figurer perfectly. Charlie looked at her and prayed he didn't look to stupid staring at her. She just looked so great.

"I… I'm visiting." Jody explained.

Charlie looked at her. "But… What… Why?"

Jody laughed. "I wanted to see my friends… I miss you."

Charlie forced himself not to smile. He couldn't just take her back that fast, as if nothing had happened. "Oh…"

Jody stood up straighter and kissed Charlie. He kissed her back at first but then pushed her off. "Jody…"

"I'm sorry. I just… I…"

"No, you don't have to explain. It's just that… you see-"

"But I though Jessica wasn't your girlfriend."

Charlie shook his head. "She's not. We're just friends. But Callie-"

"Who's Callie?"

"My sister's best friend."

"Your sister Lisa?"

"Yeah, Lisa, my sister." Charlie nodded.

"But she's like 30!"

"She's 29. But Callie's only… 28."

"ONLY 28?? You're only 20!"

Charlie glared at her. "So what? Cooper's 26!"

Jody winced. "Cooper… ok, ok, but… I…"

"Look, Jody… I don't know what to say. You left me for the one person I truly hate in this world. Do you know how much that hurts?"

"Maybe we should go…" Sergei grabbed Galina's arm.

"No, it's fine, stay." Charlie insisted.

Sergei shrugged and sat on the couch.

"I don't know." Jody said to Charlie.

"Exactly. So you can't tell me who I can and cannot date. It's a free country. Who do you hate?"

"No one."

"That's not true." Charlie looked into her eyes.

"Well… Eva's friend Marcy is the biggest bitch I've ever met."

"Ok. So what if I dated her?"

Jody bit her lip and shrugged.

"Just… go away. No one asked you to come here." Charlie stated and locked himself in his room. He kicked his duffel bag a few times until it hit his door. He slammed his back against the door slid down to sit on his bag.

Jody listened to the bangs coming from Charlie's room. She sat down on the couch and tried not to cry. She hated crying. That didn't matter. Charlie was mad at her, and he was really, really mad. Jody could tell he was mad at her for more than one reason, but she wasn't sure why. She loved Charlie. She could feel the hot tears start to come down her face.

Galina stared in amazement at Charlie's door. "He didn't have a girlfriend when he left…"

Jody looked up. "What? What do you mean when he left?"

"He left on Friday to go visit Lisa. He didn't have a girlfriend when he left."

Jody whipped her eyes. "Well, it doesn't matter now. He doesn't love me anymore and he has a girlfriend."

Galina sat next to Jody and shook her head. "No, that's not true. He does love you. He loved you… a lot. You should see him without you Jody. He hardly eats, he doesn't talk… he's miserable.

"Really?"

"Yes." Sergei nodded.

"Then why is he doing this?"

"He's still mad at you for dumping him for Cooper."

Jody sighed. "I know. It was stupid. I thought I loved Cooper… but I didn't. I love Charlie. Charlie is the first guy who ever told me that he loved me. But a week after he told me for the first time… I go off and dump his for that jerk. I never even said that I loved him back… but I do. More than anything. I know that's stupid, considering I'm not even old enough to drink legally but… I don't know… I just do."

"No, it's not stupid at all. Just look at Charlie. He loves you and he's 20. Me and Galina are in love… and we are still only 20."

Jody smiled. "Yeah but… maybe I shouldn't have come."

"No, don't be ridiculous. I'm glad you came." Galina said.

Jody smiled again. "Ok. But now what? I was supposed to sleep in his room… I could sleep out here ion the couch I guess."

"No! I can sleep in Charlie's room. You sleep with Galina." Sergei said.

"Ok… I'm tired."

"Why? We are 3 hours earlier than New York."

"I know, but I stayed up really late last night… so I'm still just really tired. Do you guys mind if I go to bed now?"

"No, go ahead." Galina opened the door to her room and let Jody in.

Sergei gave Galina a worried look before pounding on Charlie's door.

Charlie opened the door and saw it was Sergei. "Hey."

"We have to talk." Sergei stepped in and shut the door.

A while later…

"So, come on, this is gonna be fun!" Galina said to Jody.

"Why?"

"It'll bee like a sleep over or something. You know, girl talk."

Jody smiled. "Yeah, it will be fun."

"So, what do we talk about first?"

"I dunno. What do you wanna talk about?"

Galina shrugged. "How is Charlie?"

"I don't know! He's not talking to me!"

Galina smiled. "I know!"

"Then what do you mean?"

"Nevermind."

"Ok." Jody shrugged. "Besides…… we…"

"What?"

"Well, we never really-"

"Why not?"

"I don't know."

"You guys went out for 2 years!"

"I know! But… we just never…" Jody shrugged. "Did."

Galina squinted. "Wow."

"What?"

"Oh, nothing. I just would have thought you two… well, you guys were so in love."

"Yeah, but he didn't tell me that for 2 years."

Galina raised her eyebrows. "Really? That long?"

"Yeah. Sweet isn't he?"

"I guess… if you wanna call that sweet."

"You don't think he's sweet?"

"Well, I do, but if it's based on that, I'd go more with…"

"What?"

"I dunno. Weird maybe… I'm not sure."

"Whatever." Jody yawned. "Good-night Galina." Jody shut her eyes.

"Night."

Meanwhile in Charlie's room…

"Why did you do that?" Sergei asked.

"She's just so…"

"What? Perfect for you?"

"No… she's just so…" Charlie squinted. "Jody."

"So?"

Charlie shook his head. "Nevermind."


	4. Jody's Other Lover

Charlie and Jody Have Problems Too… Part 4 ****

Charlie and Jody Have Problems Too… Part 4

The next morning…

Jody woke up and looked around the room. Seeing Charlie staring at her, she was startled.

"Charlie! You scared me!" Jody said quietly.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you." Charlie said calmly as he sat down next to her. "I just… you looked so peaceful, sleeping there like that. I didn't want to wake you up. But I, I have to tell you something."

Jody checked her watch. "Aren't you late for class?"

"Yeah, but… this is more important."

"No, it's not. Go to work, I don't wanna make you lose your job or anything."

"It doesn't matter anyway… I'm not gonna go there anymore. It's not the same as Cooper's company."

Jody looked up and into Charlie's eyes. Smiling, she asked hopefully, "You're moving back?"

"Only if you want me to."

"What about Callie or… whoever." Jody bit her lip.

"I _just_ met her like 3 days ago. Lisa just set us up because Callie liked me so much. But… I didn't really want to go out with her… it was only dinner, but still. I know the way I acted yesterday, it was wrong and I'm sorry. Galina was telling me how you thought I didn't love you anymore… but I do. I haven't been able to do anything without you here. I love you."

Jody smiled. "I'd love for you to come back to New York. I know… I never said anything back before… but… I love you too."

Charlie smiled and kissed her. "I don't know what to say next. You wanna go out for lunch or something?"

"Sure… but it's only 10."

"Oh yeah… well… then, I guess I should go call Callie."

"Ok."

Charlie stood up and started to leave, but stopped and turned around. "You come with me?"

Jody nodded and stood up. "Sure."

They went into Charlie's room and he put it on speakerphone. Dialing the number on the slip of paper next to his phone, Charlie smiled at Jody and kissed her again.

"Hello?"

Charlie let go of Jody and smiled. "Hey Callie, it's me, Charlie."

"Hi Charlie!! How's it going?" Callie asked happily.

"Um… not to much. I know I said I'd visit in a few weeks so we could hang out some more and all, but I just found out I can't go."

"Why not?"

"Uh, Jody… came to visit me and my roommates."

"And?" Callie asked uncertainly.

"Ok…" Charlie kissed Jody one last time. "We kinda just got back together. Sorry."

"Oh, well, good-luck. Bye." Callie said quickly before hanging up.

Charlie turned to Jody again and smiled. Jody looked into his eyes and remembered how much she loved him. Kissing him again, she hoped they would never lose each other again.

()~*~ BACK IN NEW YORK SEVERAL WEEKS LATER ~*~()

Charlie and Jody walked hand in hand into the Cooper Neilson Dance Company. Jody hadn't seen Cooper since the day of their break-up and she hoped he wouldn't be all over her like he was the last time they broke up. Cooper was standing over the front desk and turned around just in time to see them walk thought the doors. He ran up to them and went to kiss Jody, but stopped when he saw Charlie glaring at him.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Cooper asked, turning to Charlie.

"I came to be with my girlfriend." Charlie growled back at Cooper.

Cooper squinted and shook his head. "Fine… break her heart again."

"Guys, I AM right here." Jody reminded them.

Charlie took her hand and glared one last time at Cooper before walking off to the desk for his papers.

"Don't let him get to you, he's just a jerk." Jody said.

"I know, but still… you have to dance with him today?"

Jody smiled sweetly at him. "Yea, but don't worry. I don't love him, I love you. Ok?"

"Ok." Charlie smiled and kissed her softly before going back to his new apartment.

Jody stayed and went off to her first class.

"Today…" Cooper instructed everyone in the class. Then he paired everyone off and noticed happily that Charlie wasn't present. He paired himself with Jody and showed everyone the step. Jody went along, unhappily, as Cooper ran his hands all over her and lifted her in the air.

After the class, Jody sat down next to her bag and took off her shoes. Placing them in her gym bag, Cooper sat down next to her.

"Look, Jody, about that girl. I wasn't anything serious. I just… got a little drunk and saw this girl sitting there. Then she came up to me and we just stared talking and buying drinks… anyway. I'm really sorry. I love you, come on, let's go out to lunch. Please? I really wanna make this up to you."

Jody shook her head. "Look, Coop, I'm really… flattered you love me and all, but I don't love you. I love Charlie, and I always have. Sorry." She got up and Cooper followed her out to the lobby.

"But can't we still have lunch?"

"No, I'm going out to lunch with Charlie."

"Then, can we still be friends? We were friends before."

"… Fine, Cooper, whatever. Just stay away." Jody left through the swinging doors to meet Charlie for lunch.


End file.
